I'll reveal true waiting lists: O'Farrell

The true elective surgery waiting list for NSW hospitals will be revealed if the Coalition wins government at the weekend, Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell says.

Mr O'Farrell says the coalition will bring honesty to the compilation of waiting lists which, he argues, currently are incomplete because doctors can't reveal the number of patients who have to wait more than a year for surgery.

"We want to ensure that we have certainty about the numbers, certainty about how long they're waiting, so that we can ensure that every taxpayer dollar going into the health system is spent wisely," Mr O'Farrell told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

Opposition health spokeswoman Jillian Skinner said she had "no idea" of the real figures.

The two politicians were St George Private Hospital, in Sydney's south, where they promised $72 million in extra funding to allow 13,000 extra surgical operations to be performed.

Ms Skinner said the waiting list might increase in the short term under a Coalition government.

"In the short term, yes (the list) may go up if we uncover lies that have been perpetrated to the public by Labor because they pretended those people don't exist," Ms Skinner said.